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Sunday, July 01, 2018

For July we would like to reintroduce you to a lovely bottle of Charles de Cazanove Rosé Champagne. This year we're having a great time shopping in our own wine rack and enjoying old favorite sparkling wines for our first-of-the-month wine toasts.

Above is a photo from a couple of years ago when we first wrote about this wine in our post:

Click over there to find out how a mistake made in a moment of hurry had a happy ending.

Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since New Years Eve 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month!

Our bottle of Charles de Cazanove Rosé is a blend of 15% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier, and 15% Côteaux Champenois Rouge. The blend will vary from year-to-year as the winemaker tries to achieve the house style. We're always happy when we see a high percentage of Pinot Noir in a bottle. And, we love wines of great value. This one should be about $35.

K & L Wines always has great and reliable descriptions of wines. "This rich, round rosé is a truly affordable luxury. Although thus far off the radar of wine critics, I think it's the best wine from de Cazanove, with its lovely strawberry color and aromas. Full-bodied but nicely balanced, this wine will make a great aperitif or pair well with a charcuterie plate or after-dinner fruit salad."

Then they include this quote which makes us happy about opening an older bottle.

Friday, June 01, 2018

Nino Franco Rustico is the kind of old friend you take on vacation with you. And we did! To be sure we would have a bottle of this favorite prosecco to enjoy by the beach, we took along one from our Boston wine rack. (There are usually a few bottles of Nino filling their usual slots.)

We are having a fun year toasting each new month with wines that are old friends and that have happy stories of friends to go with them.

Over the years of writing about and recommending this wine, we became social media friends with Silvia Franco. That's her in the photo above. We were fortunate to meet her in person when she came to Boston. Here is that story: Brix Wine Shop Makes Our Nino Franco Dreams Come True!

Sharing a bottle of this lovely sparkler is a rite of vacation for us. This year we sipped it on a foggy evening on the deck as we watched the tide change in Provincetown Harbor. First and foremost this is a food wine. It will happily pair up with whatever you are nibbling...

... even if it's some squares of bar pizza, a few cherry tomatoes, and a pile of shavings of parmigiano reggiano. Hey, it was what we had on hand in a rental house when we were too relaxed to go out and shop for more food. The Nino turned it into a feast!

Last month by the bay or tonight on the roof deck, we love this wine and hope you will find a bottle and enjoy it at some point this summer.

Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since New Year's Eve 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month – waiting 12 months just wouldn't do.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

We have had Asparagus Ragout for supper repeatedly in recent weeks. We visited the Provincetown Farmers Market on a recent trip to our favorite spot on the tip of the Cape and bought a bunch of asparagus from Silverbrook Farm. We didn't want to turn on the oven in our rental apartment to roast it, so Penny remembered a Jacques Pepin cooking technique for cooking fresh vegetables in a little water and a bit of butter. We both loved the result.

Via Wikipedia we found this about Ragout, "The term comes from the French ragoûter, meaning: 'to revive the taste." The Italian ragù (the word being borrowed from French) is a sauce such as Ragù Napoletano used typically to dress pasta."

While this farm fresh asparagus did not need reviving, this method of cooking it certainly results in great flavor complete with a light sauce. (Naturally, Ed selected his favorite utensil – a slice of fresh bread – and sopped up every drop of the sauce remaining on his plate.)

When we returned to Boston, we bought more asparagus at the Atlas Farm stand at the Copley Square Farmers Market and had a second supper of lovely, local asparagus.

We do peel the stalks and this time we had watched the video and followed Jacques' method. If you have the time, you can make an asparagus soup from the trimmings.

We highly recommend this quick and easy cooking method for many of the fresh, local vegetable you'll be gathering at local markets this summer.

The friends connected to this wine begin with Argyle founder Rollin Soles. He's the man with the great big smile in the photo. We corresponded with him long before we had the pleasure of meeting him. We have a great history of friendship with his wines.

This wine is a stunner! We tend to be one glass of wine people these days but, with this one, we couldn't resist a second pour.

The 2023 mentioned in our post title is because Argyle says,

"Like all Argyle Sparkling wines, Argyle Brut Rosé is made to be long aging, maintaining its richness & minerality. It was cellared and aged on the yeast for 3-5 years and disgorged on demand, just prior to release. A portion of this vintage will remain on yeast 10 years to become Extended Tirage Brut Rosé in 2023."

We've made a note on our calendars to find that wine in 2023.

We enjoyed one bottle in Provincetown, but stopped by Perry's to buy a second one to bring home and share with friends on May 1st!

Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month! Join our Sparkling Resolution!

Not only is this a perfect, everyday bubbly that’s very reasonably priced, but it’s also extremely versatile and an exceptionally handy sparkler to have on hand at all times. We’ve seen Dibon used as a mixer at some top restaurant bars. And, when one prestigious eatery first came to Boston a few years ago, it charged more for a glass of Debon than for the entire bottle! (Perhaps an oversight, however it did give us some idea of the markup they were using on wines.)

It’s a wine we often recommend to anyone who likes bubbly whether a lifelong aficionado or someone just beginning to explore sparklers. It’s a great way to share with friends (Our Westie Poppy gifted a bottle to her favorite butcher and he is now a Dibon fan.) It's also a great way to make new friends as you share not only a bottle, but also show them how delicious a value wine can be.

Another plus, in this year of old friends, is that Dibon comes from another favorite, trusted, and local importer, OZ Wine Company of Haverhill, MA. Our many OZ experiences make up happy to choose any wine from this line when we explore a shop or wine list. (We do wish wine lists included categories for some of the great importers.)

Here's some of what we said in our first post about this outstanding cava:

"If 'balance' is a fault, then it’s this wine’s only fault! It will please a wide range of tastes ..."

"It's light, refreshing, and inviting. Very food-friendly ..."

"Dibon Cava would be a perfect opener for a party, at a restaurant with friends, to begin a meal or an evening. And, a special way to celebrate the start of a new month. Salud!"

The subtitle is "Mark Bittman and doctor David L. Katz patiently answer pretty much every question we could think of about healthy food."

Where We Found It

The great folks at Boston Organics shared the link to this on their Facebook page. They not only deliver food that helps us eat right, but also work hard to educate us about the topic and support local, sustainable, and healthy foodways.

Why We Recommend That You Spend Some Time with This Long Read

We've both spent a lot of time reading and writing about food and health over the past few years as a part of our own effort to improve our lives. We find a lot of nonsense that gets passed off as fact and a lot of great information that is difficult to understand and digest. These two men have found that great middle ground of giving you the guidance you need to make better choices with a touch of humor and great clear writing.

What They Say:

The subhead says it all, "Mark Bittman and doctor David L. Katz patiently answer pretty much every question we could think of about healthy food." That's why it is such a long scroll.

Here are three favorite quotes to give you a flavor of the piece:

"What should I care about on nutrition labels? Calories, fat grams, or sugar grams?The best foods don’t even have labels, because they are just one ingredient: avocado, lentils, blueberries, broccoli, almonds, etc."

"What about avocados? Are they bad for you or good for you? Everyone says they’re full of fat, but that it’s 'good' fat.Think of avocados as you do nuts: They’re 'good for you' but with limits. One a day is certainly fine. Their nutrient profile is great, with fat that’s a lot like the fat in olives."

On beans and farting: "Given the prevalence of heart disease associated with poor diets in the U.S., we say bring on the beans! (And, as far as farting is concerned, anecdotally at least, the more frequently you eat beans the better your gut tolerates them.)"

We suggest youkeep a link to this piece on your phone and read a bit as you sit and wait for something – especially an appointment with a doctor – or when you are waiting for a prescription to be filled. Who knows, with this information you might see less of the doctor and need fewer medications, that's how healthier eating worked for us.

The last time we told you about his wine was back on March 1, 2012, but we've shared this favorite with favorite people many times since then.

About Bisson Glera Vino Frizzante Trevigiani

This delightful, bone dry sparkler checks so many of our favorite aspects. It is light and lively with good fruit balance. It's 11% Alcohol by Volume, so we can sometimes enjoy a second glass.

It's a great value. As one critic said, "Small, delicate bubbles, elegant and balanced, this lovely fizz from Italy cannot be labeled prosecco because it’s got a flip-top cap. Fine. Who cares? It’s the best on the market and it’s under $20."

If you plan to pop a bottle of this beauty with us, reach for your favorite bottle opener because it has a “Spark Cap” also know as a Crown Cap.

The second old friend featured this month is Neal Rosenthal. He is one of our favorite and most dependable importers of wine. We have been following his work and learning from his writing for years.

When a friend asked for a way to deal with wine lists when she was entertaining clients, we suggested she ask, "Do you have anything imported by Rosenthal?"

If you have ever seen the Mondovino series on wine, you may agree with us that Neal Rosenthal is the hero of the world of wine as explored in that documentary.

Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month! This year we've decided to revisit a lot of old friends – wines that are usually in our wine rack, that we often order when we dine out, and that we choose for special occasions.

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